The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-08-05
TEMPERANCE.
A COMPLETE vNpIcA1lon.

Mr.. Powderiy's Argument in Defense of
His Position the Temperance Cues
tion.
Among the letters that came to me to-
day, | ind one from an old friend who
takes me to task for my words on the Tenn
perance question, spoken some ten days
ago in Boston and Lynn. He says:
!" In the main you are right, even the rum
seller himself will not deny the justice of your
position, but remember that in the very organ
ization of which you are the head. there
are good men who drink; there are
thousands who will not agree with You. and
after all why do you so bitterly arraign the poor
drunkard? 1t is not required of YOU by the con-
stitution or laws of the knights of Labor. You
could well afford to remain silent or at least
neutral. preferring to teach rather by example
than precept, etc. very much fear that
you will be misunderstood, etc.
My friend makes the candid admission
III starting out, that in the main am riohti
that even the rum seller will not deuy the
justice of my position. Having said as
much, he should have stopped-even then
he told me nothing new. l know that in
refusing to even touch drop of strong
drink was, and am right In refusing to
treat another to that which | do not be-
lieve to be good for myself to drink, 1
know am right. In refusing to associate
with men who get drunk, l know am
right In not allowing a rum-seller to
gain admittance into the order of
the Knights of Labor, l know l
am right. In advising our assem-
bles not to rent halls or meeting
rooms over drinking places, l know
l am right. l have done this from
the day my voice was first heard in
the council h alls of our order. NV posi-.
ton on the question of Temperance is right
i am determined to maintain it. and will
not alter it one jot or title If sin the
MAN," am right, why should alter nv
course9 If the man who sells LIQUOR will
''not deny the justice' of my position.
why should l deviate to the right or left.
If he will not deny, why should he not ad-
NIT that am righta l know that in the
organic alton of which ] am the head, there
are many good men VINO drink, but they
would be better men if they did not drink.
! know that there are thousands in our
order who will not agree with me on the
question OF Temperance, but that is their
misfortune, for they are wrong, radically
wrong.
Ten years ago was Kissed because
advised men to let strong Dunk alone.
:. i
tinued to advise men to be temperate. and
though l have had no experience that
would qualify me to render an opinion on
the efficacy OF rotten egg as an ally of
the rum -drinker, yet l would prefer to
have my exterior decorated from summit
to base with the rankest kind of rotten
eggs, rather than allow one drop of liquid
villainy to pass my lips, or to have the end
of In NV hA
that follows the planting of the seeds of
hatred, envy, malice and damnation, all of
which are represented in a solitary glass
of gin.
Ten years ago the cause of Temperance
was not so respectable as it IS to-day, be-
cause there were not so many respectable
men and women advocating it. 1t has
gained ground; it is gaining ground, and
all because men and women who believed
in it could not be brOw-beaten or fright
enod. Neither the Kissing of geese or
serpents, nor the throwing of rotten eggs,
has stopped or even delayed the march of
Temperance among the workers.
Why do so bitterly arraign the poor
drunkardr' For the reason that he is a
drunkard, and because he has made him
self poor through his love of drink. Did
/, or any other man, rob him of the money
he has squandered in drink; did | make
him poor, the vilest names that tongue
can frame would he apply to me. Must l
stand idly by and remain silent while he
robs himselfa Did he rob only himself it
would not make so much difference. He
rObs parents, wife and children. He robs
his aged father and mother through love
of drink. He gives for rum what should
go for their support. When they MUIR
muir he turns them from his door,
and points his contaminated drunken
finger toward the poor-hOuse. He next
turns toward his wife and robs her
of what should be devoted to the keep
ing of her home in comfort and
plenty. He robs her of her wedding
ring and pawns it for drink. He turns his
daughter from his door i'll a fit of drunken
anger, and drives her to the house Of pros
ttution, and then accepts from her hands
the proceeds of her shame. TO satisfy his
love of drink he takes the price of his
child's virtue and innocence from her sim
stained, lust hejeweled fingers, and with
it tOtters to the bar to pay it to the man
who 'does not deny the justice of my po-
siton." do not arraign the man who
drinks because he is poor, but because
through being a slave to drink he has
made himself and family poor. do not
hate the man who drinks, for have car
ried drunken men to their homes on
my back rather than to allow them to re-
main exposed to inclement weather. do
not hate the drunkard-he is what drink
has effected; and while 1 do not hate the
effect, I abhor and loath9 the cause.
Take the lists of labor societies of Amer
ice, and the total sum paid into their treas.
uries from all sources from their organi-
zation to the present time does not exceed
S5,000000. The Knights of Labor is the
largest and most influential of them ALL
and though so much has been said concern
ing the vast amount of money that has
teen collected from the members, yet the
total sum levied and collected for all pur-
poses-per capita tax, Journal, assistance
fund.- appeals, assessments, insurance and
cc-operation-up to the present time, will
not exceed $500, 900
The total sum collected for the first nine
years of the existence of the Grand AS
sembly was about $780, 725 H. In nine
years less than $500, 00) were collected TO
uplift humanity to higher plane, and 10
bring the workers to realizing sense of
their actual condition in life. 1t took less
than 5000, 600 to teach the civilized world
CHs@U w NOultl Oulll up StiI VI an
iZation that could shed such light upon the
doings of landlords, bondlords, mon0po-
lists and other tres passers on the domain
Of popular rights that they were forced TO
halt for time and stand up TO explain.
Less than 100000 mot dollar unaccount-
ed for), and on the statute books of the ma
ton will you find the impress of the work
mans hand. On the law book of every
State can be traced tho doings of iabor's
representatives. Less than 500 900 10
turn the batteries Of greed and avarice
against the order of the Knights of Labor
Less than $4,000 to create revolution
greater, further reaching in its ~Gonsa-
Quences and more lasting in its benefits,
than the revolution which caused the
streets of the towns and cities of France
to run red with human blood less than 4